


Don't Break the Seal

by gluupor



Series: AFTG Andreil Bingo 2018 [4]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: AFTG Bingo 2018, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Magic, Magical Realism, Murder, Neil is a selkie, Prompt: "What the fuck?", Prompt: Bloodshed, Prompt: Non-human AU, Self-Harm, Urban Fantasy, all canon warnings apply
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-22
Updated: 2018-11-22
Packaged: 2019-08-27 19:41:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16708801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gluupor/pseuds/gluupor
Summary: Living with the Spears and feeling desperate and alone, Andrew meets and befriends a seal who can turn into a boy.In later years he comes to believe that the magical boy he met was just a hallucination. It is therefore very surprising when he meets him again after hitting him in the stomach with an exy racquet in a tiny town in Nowhere, Arizona.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for AFTG Bingo Andreil card squares Non-human AU, Bloodshed, and "What the fuck?".
> 
> In this first chapter, Andrew is living with the Spears. Please mind the tags.
> 
> Happy Thanksgiving to all you Americans. My family calls this occasion "Feastivus" and we use it as an excuse to eat a second turkey (since Canadian Thanksgiving is in early October).

Not far from the Spears' home (not Andrew's home, not yet) there was a park that bordered on the bay. Andrew spent a lot of time exploring the park to avoid being home alone with Drake. One day, following a fenced-off path, he came across a run-down shack that hid an old wooden dock from view. Sitting on the dock left him in his own little world; almost no one came to this part of the park and those who did couldn't see him. He took a metal box from the Spears' basement - left over from when Richard used to take Drake camping - and hid it under some of the rotting wood in the shack. In it he kept things that he didn't want Cass to find: cigarettes, a sharp knife, rubbing alcohol, bandages.

It became his little sanctuary, a place he went when he needed to get away from everything, when he needed to release the pain and anger from within himself. When the need arose he cut into his skin, the sharp pain blotting everything else out. He tried to be careful: never cutting too deep and bandaging his wounds to prevent infection.

He counted the drops of blood as they fell into the bay, making a wish as each one splashed into the water.

He wished that he had a family that loved him.

He wished that Drake disappear so he could go to bed without fear.

He wished for strength so that he could defend himself.

He wished for someone to believe in him.

He wished for someone who would support him.

He wished for someone to listen and to understand him.

He wished for a friend.

After seven drops he bandaged his cut, chiding himself for making wishes despite knowing that the universe gave away nothing for free especially to boys like him. A chill went down his spine and he stiffened, feeling eyes on him. Glancing around he double-checked to make sure that he was alone. A splash of water drew his attention and he looked out over the bay to see two giant, liquid black eyes staring out at him from the face of a reddish-brown seal.

"Oh!" said Andrew in surprise, jerking back. The seal retreated slightly, watching him with an almost-human expression of curiosity mixed with fear. "Hello," he said softly, the seal's obvious fear of him settling his nerves. "You just surprised me, is all. I'm not going to hurt you."

The seal bobbed closer but still kept its distance.

"Where did you come from anyway?"

The seal slapped a flipper against the surface of the water.

Andrew rolled his eyes. "Well, yes, I know you come from the ocean but I've never seen a seal here before. Are you lost?" He was perfectly aware that the seal couldn't understand him and that talking to it was probably crazy, but the seal seemed to get calmer as he spoke to it and it watched him intently as if it were listening to him. He told the seal his name and where he went to school and that he spent most afternoons here but that he had to be back by dinner time.

"So if you want to see me again you just have to show up here around this time, okay?" he said as he reluctantly got to his feet. He felt a little foolish asking the seal to come back but it had proved a good distraction and he'd spent the most restful hour that he could ever remember having. "I have to go now. Bye."

Andrew kept checking over his shoulder as he left; the seal watched him until he was out of sight. He rushed back to the Spears' as he was already going to be late and he didn't want to risk being later.

* * *

He went to the library after school the next day to check out a book about seals. He'd spent many hours in the library, another popular haunt of his when the weather was too rainy or cold to go to the park. He chose a book that would help him identify the seal and then hurried to the dock.

He told himself that it was stupid to be disappointed that the water around the dock was as completely deserted as usual. He was aware that there was no way that the seal had understood him yesterday, that it was a wild animal, but he still slumped in defeat.

For one shining hour he'd had something that was his and his alone. He'd been hurting and bleeding and wishing when the seal had showed up, bringing him comfort. He paused at this thought. Maybe… maybe seals were attracted to blood in the water, like sharks? Or maybe it had heard him wishing? Andrew had never been able to completely rid himself of a belief in magic; it seemed like there was another whole world that he could sometimes catch a glimpse of out of the corner of his eye. It had abandoned him so far - he had waited for weeks to receive his Hogwarts (or American Wizardry School) letter when he turned eleven - but he hadn't been able to extinguish the last bit of hope that it existed.

He closed his eyes and went over the exact sequence of events that had occurred before the seal showed up. He'd been bleeding and making a wish as each drop of blood fell into the water. Seven wishes for seven drops. He carefully pierced his thumb and squeezed out seven drops of blood while making wishes: all of them were for the seal to come back. He then sucked his thumb to stop the bleeding while he waited to see if it had worked.

He didn't have to wait long.

"Hello," said Andrew when the seal surfaced. "I figured out how to call you." The seal blinked once, long and slow and something occurred to Andrew. "Did you have to come? Did I force you? I only want you here if you want to be here. You can leave if you want." He waited for a couple beats but the seal just drew nearer so he opened his book. "Now let's see what kind of seal you are… although you're a magic seal so maybe you're not in here." He continued to narrate what he was reading to the seal. "Hmm, well you don't have ears, so you're a true seal… and most true seals live only in the arctic… so you're probably a common harbour seal," he concluded, looking up at the seal.

The seal expelled a huff of air, blowing a bubble in the water. "I agree, you're not common at all," said Andrew. "But you are very small. This says that harbour seals can grow up to 300 pounds but you're about my size. Are you a kid, still? Maybe we're the same age. I'm twelve." He read farther in the book. "But twelve is probably pretty old for a seal, huh? Maybe you're twelve in seal years." He continued chatting about what he read in the book and, when he'd read everything about harbour seals, about other books he'd liked and their plots. He completely lost track of time and probably would have missed dinner entirely if the seal hadn't made a sound, like a bark, that distracted him from his train of thought and brought him into the present.

"Oh, you're right, I'm late," he said. "I'll see you tomorrow. The book said you eat bony fish and shellfish so I'll see if I can find something to bring you."

* * *

Andrew googled 'magic seal' that evening and got a lot of results for driveway repair companies but very little about magical pinnipeds. He was not overly surprised as he assumed that if anyone had met a magical seal they had kept the information to themselves. He had no intention of telling anyone else about his seal; what if they tried to take it from him or stop him from seeing it? No, it was _his_ magic seal and he'd protect it from the whole world if necessary.

The next day after school he hurried to the Spears', ducking in quietly in case Drake was already home, and grabbed a bag of tilapia filets out of the freezer before heading to the park. He bled his seven drops and wished very hard for his seal and then waited impatiently.

"Hi," he said as soon as the seal surfaced. "I brought you something to eat, but it's still frozen." The seal cocked its head in interest, swimming far closer to Andrew than it ever had before. It barked insistently.

"I mean, you can try it but it doesn't look very appetizing," he muttered, pulling one of the frost-encrusted filets out of the bag. The seal made another insistent barking noise so Andrew tossed the fish into the water while wrinkling his nose in distaste. The seal ate the tilapia in two bites and then turned its large eyes back to Andrew.

"You liked that, huh?" he said. "Alright, have some more." He fed the seal about half the bag of fish, before wrapping it up. "I don't want to make you sick," he said. "I'll bring more tomorrow." As if it understood, the seal stopped staring at the bag of fish and started swimming around in lazy circles.

"We need to give you a name," Andrew declared. "I can't keep referring to you as 'the seal' in my head." He thought for a couple minutes. "I know," he declared. "I'll call you Neil. Neil the seal, how do you like that?" The newly christened Neil dove under the water and then surfaced to spit a stream of water at Andrew.

"Too late," laughed Andrew. "That's your name now. No take backs!" Neil used his tail to splash some more water at him.

"I won't bring you any more fish if you keep splashing me," he warned, jumping back out of the way. "Cass will notice if I'm soaking wet." Neil subsided and swam closer. He watched Andrew, his eyes bright and inquisitive. "I bet you're wondering who Cass is," said Andrew, taking a seat at the end of the dock. "She's my foster mother. I think she really likes me; she's the best mother I've ever had." He told Neil all about Cass, carefully skirting any mention of Drake, until it was time for him to leave. "See you tomorrow, Neil," he said as he packed up to leave.

Neil blew bubbles at him in response.

* * *

The next day it rained. Not a light shower or a slight drizzle but a driving, relentless downpour. Cass had left a message for him to wait at school after he was dismissed because Drake was coming to pick him up. Andrew stilled inside. He hadn't forgotten - he could never forget - but he'd been diverted for the last few days. He hadn't let himself think about the realities of living with the Spears, about the price he had to pay to have a good mother.

Drake had a smug grin on his face when he arrived, twirling his keys around his forefinger.

"Too bad about the rain, huh, AJ?" he said. "Don't worry, I can think of things we can do indoors."

Andrew reluctantly followed him to his car and unsuccessfully tried to shut his brain off.

Later, after dinner, the rain tapered off.

"Can I go out for a bit before bedtime?" Andrew asked Cass dully.

"I guess so," she said dubiously, "since you spent all afternoon indoors. Just be back before dark, alright?"

He stiffly made his way to his secret dock, where he sat, wrapped his arms around his knees, and let himself fall apart. He sobbed, angry at the world, angry at himself. He didn't get his knife, not wanting to accidentally call Neil when he didn't want him.

Still, before long he heard a splash and when he looked up Neil was watching him.

"I don't have food for you," he growled harshly. "Go away."

Neil swam closer instead.

Andrew splashed water into his face. "I said go away you stupid seal! I don't want you here," he panted heavily. "This is all your fault. What's the point of being magic if you're not going to make anything better?"

Neil bobbed right up to the dock close enough that Andrew could reach out and touch him, something he'd never done before. As Andrew watched with wide eyes he slapped his flippers on the dock and heaved himself out of the water.

He looked at Andrew with wide, sad eyes. He barked mournfully.

Andrew threw his arms around Neil's neck and sobbed into his fur. "Why's everything so _hard_?" he choked out. For the first time he let the story of Drake spill out of him, taking comfort in holding something warm and alive (albeit wet) against him. Neil just sat patiently and let Andrew cry himself out.

It was dusk by the time Andrew pulled himself together, sitting back and wiping his cheeks.

"I've got to get back," he muttered, avoiding looking at Neil directly. He felt vaguely embarrassed about confessing his problems to a seal but he also felt as if a weight had been lifted. This wasn't going to help change anything but at least he was a little less alone.

* * *

He half expected Neil to ignore his summons the next time he went to the bay, but Neil showed up as he always did. Andrew had brought him fish again and amused himself by throwing the pieces several feet on either side of Neil, making him jump to catch them. It gave him an idea and the next day he brought a rubber ball.

Neil happily chased the ball every time Andrew threw it and then whacked it with his tail back to Andrew who had to put some effort into not letting it get by him. Andrew tired of the game first. He fed Neil a couple handfuls of dried shrimp and rubbed his head when he came close enough to eat them.

Andrew went back to the dock every day for the next three weeks. Sometimes they played, sometimes Andrew read out loud, rarely he shared his troubles.

One day Andrew arrived at the dock to find someone already there. The boy was sitting and waiting, completely naked save for a fur coat that he had wrapped around himself.

He perked up when Andrew stumbled to a confused halt on the dock. "Andrew, finally," he said. "I got here a little earlier than I'd planned. It's hard to tell human time when I'm in the water."

Andrew stared at him. His hair was reddish-brown like the fur he wore, but it was his eyes that gave him away. The pupils were too large and reflected light like an animal's.

" _Neil_?" asked Andrew. The boy nodded. "What the fuck?" said Andrew fervently. He didn't swear a lot as he tended to get in trouble at school or with Cass when he did so, but he felt that this situation called for swearing.

"Hi," said Neil.

"You can turn into a person?" Andrew took a seat next to Neil, who moved away until he was no longer in arm's reach.

"Only during the new moon."

"It's daytime," protested Andrew.

"From dawn to dawn on the day of the new moon."

Andrew considered. "Are you under a curse?"

"No, I'm a selkie," said Neil. At Andrew's blank expression he continued, "A seal shifter. You've never heard of a selkie?"

"Magic isn't real."

"Of course it is. Do you spend all you time around mundane humans or something?"

"I'm a human," said Andrew, feeling vaguely insulted.

"You must be a changeling; if you were fully mundane you wouldn't have been able to call me," said Neil decisively.

"The blood?"

"Tears work, too. Seven drops." A suddenly guilty look passed over Neil's face. "I really shouldn't be telling you this but I thought you already knew."

"Why shouldn't you tell me?"

Neil grimaced. "If my mother found out that I'd answered your call, that I'd shown my human self to you? She'd beat me black and blue but she'd _kill_ you."

Andrew scoffed. "She'd kill some random kid?"

"She has little love lost for humans," Neil said, his face deathly serious. "If you ever see a seal here that isn't me you have to run and never come back."

"I can look after myself."

"Andrew, you read the book about seals. My mum is _big_ in her seal form, and strong. All she'd have to do is drag you under the water; humans can't hold their breath for long. Promise me you'll run."

"Alright, I promise. But if I never come back I won't see you again."

"It doesn't matter. If my mother knew about you she'd take me to the far side of the ocean and never let me out of her sight again."

Andrew wrinkled his brow in thought. "If tears can call you is that why you showed up when…" He trailed off. He'd been embarrassed enough to have broken down in front of a seal, it was worse now that Neil was actually a boy.

Neil looked a little guilty. "Yeah," he said. "That's why I decided to show you my human form; it was unfair for you to be telling me secrets thinking I couldn't understand you." He paused. "I had a thought about that, though. What if you brought Drake here and we lured him into the water? Then I could hold him under until he drowns and you could stay with Cass without having to worry about him?"

"What?" sputtered Andrew, jumping to his feet. "No! He'll hurt you!"

"I'm pretty strong when I'm in seal form."

"He's stronger. He's big and muscular and getting ready to join the army. No."

"But no one would miss him," said Neil mulishly.

"Promise me you won't go near him," said Andrew. "If I can't go near your mother then you have to stay away from Drake."

"It was just an idea."

"Promise me," demanded Andrew.

"Fine, I promise."

"Good," said Andrew, retaking his seat. "Now tell me about selkies."

Selkies, it turned out, had gotten a pretty shit deal from the universe. They could be summoned by tears or blood and while they could ignore the call it was difficult. Additionally, they could only use their shapeshifting abilities once per month and if someone stole their sealskin when they did so then they were bound in service to that person until they recovered their skin.

"You have to do whatever they say?" asked Andrew, understanding now why Neil was staying out of reach. "What if you really don't want to?"

"Doesn't matter," said Neil. "It's a magical contract so we're magically compelled to obey."

Andrew shuddered to think what someone like Drake would do if he had absolute power over Neil. It made him want to retch. "I'll never touch your skin," he vowed. "Ever."

"Good," said Neil quietly.

By then it was almost time for Andrew to go back to the Spears'.

"But you'll come back?" checked Neil. "Even though you know I'm not just a seal?"

"Yes," said Andrew without having to think about it. "You're my friend."

Neil smiled shyly. "I've never had a friend before."

Something occurred to Andrew. "What's your actual name?"

"You can keep calling me Neil," he said, still smiling. "It's grown on me." He stood, flung himself into the bay, and surfaced in his seal form. He barked once and then disappeared under the water.

"What the actual fuck," said Andrew in awe, before leaving.

* * *

Strangely not all that much changed once Andrew learned that Neil was actually a mythical creature. They worked out a system where Neil could answer yes or no questions by barking for yes and slapping the water for no.

They still played with the ball as Neil had spent one of his human days regaling Andrew about how great exy was.

"Isn't exy a human game?" Andrew asked.

"Yeah, well," said Neil rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "I was raised in my human form. My dad trapped my mother by stealing her skin and he took mine, too, when I was born. We haven't been away from him that long."

Andrew processed this information. "No wonder she hates humans."

Andrew still read out loud sometimes when he didn't want to think his own thoughts and he still told Neil more things than he'd ever told anyone else. He'd always thought that he was missing the part that other children seemed to have that allowed them to make friends easily and instinctively understand how to act in a group. He was usually the new weird kid in the shabby clothes at school and his inability to be charming and friendly meant that he was either picked on or ignored.

Conversely, talking with Neil was easy, no matter what form he was in. He'd made enough comments on his human days that Andrew knew that his parents were cruel and his sealskin had slipped once allowing Andrew to see numerous scars that his seal fur usually hid. They understood each other.

All in all, as Andrew's thirteenth birthday approached, he thought that this coming year may be his best yet. He had Cass who wanted to adopt him, he had a true friend in Neil, and in the spring Drake was enlisting and leaving home.

Three weeks later Cass got a phone call and he found out he had a twin brother. A twin brother who Drake was very anxious to meet.

Andrew gave up everything he had to prevent that from happening.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter occurs concurrently with AFTG canon. Just assume that canon events are happening in the background unless otherwise specified.

There was something about Kevin Day that Andrew couldn't quite put his finger on. By all accounts he should have turned Kevin down when he asked for protection in return for giving Andrew something to live for. But there was a… quality about him that made Andrew trust him, that recognized him as a kindred spirit (for lack of a better term).

It was something that Andrew had only come across a couple times before, most of those since he'd come to Palmetto. Renee, Wymack, and Bee all gave him similar feelings of kinship, as did Aaron. And, of course, Neil.

His plan to escape the Spears' was enacted so quickly that he'd been arrested before he could give Neil a heads up and then he'd found himself in a juvenile detention facility that was so far inland that he had no way to access the ocean. Once he was there he started doubting himself. After all, which was more likely: that Neil was an actual magical seal shapeshifter who showed up when Andrew most needed a friend, or that he was a detailed hallucination brought on by trauma? As Andrew had never seen evidence of magic before or since it had been easy to convince himself that Neil hadn't been real.

"So… what are you?" asked Kevin one day when he and Andrew were alone in their dorm room.

Andrew could think of many answers to that question but he wasn't sure exactly what Kevin was getting at. He was close to the next dose of his medication, his mind as clear as it ever got these days. "Bored by this conversation," he said.

"I assume it's from your father's side," continued Kevin, "since Aaron and you are but Nicky's not."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," said Andrew flatly. If this ended up being a short joke...

"You don't know," said Kevin in realization. "Then you must be a changeling, like me."

"Changeling?" repeated Andrew. Neil had called him that once. He probably should have asked some follow up questions.

"It means that one of your ancestors was magic."

"Magic isn't real."

"I assure you, it is," said Kevin. "Half the Moriyamas' business involves mythfolk. They're descended from yokai."

"And you think I'm one of these 'mythfolk'?"

"Descended from one," corrected Kevin. "Can't you tell? Magic always recognizes itself. Other than you and Aaron, Coach, Renee, and Dobson are all _something_. I'm not sure what they are; it's impolite to ask."

"And what can I use this magic for?"

"Not much," admitted Kevin. "Mostly just the ability to identify other mythfolk. Some changelings inherit special powers. One of my forefathers on my mother's side was a leprechaun and I inherited luck."

Andrew gave a pointed look to Kevin's cast on his left arm. "You think that you are lucky?"

"I didn't say _good_ luck. And I can't control it. Mostly I have good luck in exy: I can score nearly impossible goals and I get lucky bounces. But the universe likes balance so I tend to have bad luck the rest of the time."

"Of course you use your powers to excel at a useless sport," said Andrew derisively.

Kevin ignored the provocation. "My father was also a changeling and from his side I inherited the ability to see the truth about people; again, only in exy. It's why I can see your potential skill even when you try to deny it."

Andrew made a list of mythological creatures so that he could ask Kevin about their existence without being obvious about his interest in selkies.

Kevin was happy to share all he knew about mythical creatures: apparently he studied their history for fun. When Andrew finally got around to nonchalantly asking if selkies existed, Kevin was strangely reluctant to say anything.

"You seem to be holding out on me," said Andrew when Kevin had just sullenly answered 'yes'.

"I knew a selkie once," said Kevin. "I could tell that he was going to be amazing at exy but he disappeared."

"How," asked Andrew without any intonation, trying to seem uninterested. His own selkie had also been a big fan of exy.

Kevin grimaced. "His father, who was a redcap - nasty piece of work, those - offered him to the Master. But the night before he was supposed to come to Evermore his mother found where his father had been hiding their sealskins and absconded with him."

Kevin wasn't able to give him more information than he already knew about selkies but he did confirm everything that Neil had once said. It made Andrew think that perhaps Neil hadn't been a hallucination.

The next time he sparred with Renee he watched her closely.

"You're making me feel like a beetle under a microscope," she said mildly.

"Kevin's been telling me about mythfolk," he said. "What are you?"

"And did Kevin mention that it's considered rude to ask that question?"

"He might have mentioned it," he said blandly.

She had the ghost of a smile on her face as she stroked the knives she was holding. "I may be proficient with knives, but they are not my natural weapon," she said, almost dreamily. "Water can bring even the strongest to their knees."

"You're a naiad?" he took a guess.

"Nothing so peaceful as that. I told you my history, but what I skipped over was the final step of initiation. Like all of the gang's female recruits, I was drowned in the lake. Most perished."

"You didn't."

"I did. But instead of passing on I became rusalka, a vengeful water spirit that lures unsuspecting men to their deaths."

"It sounds like they deserved it."

"Not all of my victims did."

"We're far from the water here."

"All human settlements are close to water, but I take your meaning," she said. "I was saved by my mother. Stephanie is a phoenix, a creature of fire that my water couldn't quench. She offered me one of her lives to replace the one I had lost. At the end of if I will finally be able to pass on to the afterlife. To repay her I try to do good in the world, which is why I stay far away from the water."

* * *

Andrew hadn't even listened to the name of the nobody they were recruiting out in the middle of nowhere Arizona. The local high school coach had stressed that the kid was jumpy so Wymack made Kevin and Andrew wait in the change room as he approached him alone.

Kevin spread out pages of stats that he had long ago memorized, like the true exy-obsessed idiot he was. Andrew's attention span had him digging through the equipment locker until he unearthed an old racket to hit things with. He wanted to be as irritating as possible in retribution for Kevin making him travel on a plane.

It was only chance that he was in the right place to stop the new recruit from fleeing.

"Better luck next time," he said with a cheerful smile.

"Fuck you," choked out his victim, rolling over to glare up at him and freezing in panicked recognition. His hair was muddy brown, he was wearing contacts to cover up his distinctive eyes, and his face had sharpened from its childish roundness, but Andrew would recognize him anywhere.

"Well, well, Neil the seal," he said, "unpredictable and unreal."

"Neil," said the high school coach. "Jesus, are you alright?"

Andrew laughed. "You kept the name?"

Wymack looked between the two of them assessingly. "You know each other," he stated.

"No," said Andrew, which was the truth. They hadn't seen each other in seven years, the man still gasping for breath on the floor was little more than a stranger.

Wymack watched him for another couple beats before moving between him and Neil. He helped Neil onto his feet and started in on his pitch, which Andrew ignored in favour of studying Neil. He didn't miss the quickly-suppressed recognition and fear that struck Neil when Kevin announced himself.

Anyone who had loved exy as much as Neil had as a child would recognize Kevin, but Andrew would put good money on Neil being the selkie that Kevin had once known. Which meant that Neil had family connections to the Moriyamas. Andrew didn't believe in coincidences and Neil's presence here was all kinds of suspicious.

Kevin didn't appear to have recognized Neil and gave him a pompous lecture that somehow decreased Neil's tension. Andrew could see that Kevin and Wymack were wearing down Neil's resistance to joining the Foxes.

"Do join us," said Andrew, bringing both Kevin and Wymack up short as they looked at him in confusion. He gave Neil a smile that he knew was neither nice nor comforting. "I think we have some things in common." Neil was shaping up to be a threat and therefore the best place for him was within Andrew's reach.

Neil gave him an inscrutable look before giving another token protest. Wymack sent Andrew and Kevin out to wait in the car, but they could tell that they'd worn Neil down.

Kevin took Andrew's help in recruiting Neil as evidence that he was finally starting to show interest in the team in particular and exy in general. Andrew spent the entire trip home ignoring him, his mind churning with thoughts.

* * *

Although this encounter should have definitely set to rest Andrew's belief that his childhood friend Neil had been a hallucination, he didn't entirely trust his drugged up mind. He was going to have to have a sober face-to-face to convince himself.

He picked Neil up at the airport, riding the tail end of his drugs before the nausea set in. He had just enough time to get back to Wymack's.

"I thought you weren't ever supposed to be off your drugs," said Neil once they got in the car. Clearly he was aware that Andrew wasn't Aaron.

"Aren't you clever," replied Andrew. "I thought you were supposed to be spending your time as an aquatic mammal under the overprotective gaze of your mother."

"She's dead," said Neil.

"Where's your skin?"

A hard look passed over Neil's face, his jaw clenched and angry.

"Relax," said Andrew. "I only wanted to know if you still have it in your possession or if someone else is pulling your strings."

"I have it," said Neil quietly.

"Forgive me if I don't trust the word of a liar," said Andrew snidely.

"A…? Are you mad at me?"

"I don't feel anything," said Andrew, the words tasting sour on his tongue. It was another side effect of being a changeling, according to Kevin. Unlike true fae they could lie, but it felt wrong to do so. "Especially about those people who have broken promises to me."

Neil huffed angrily, two spots of colour appearing on his cheeks. "I never did!"

"Funny story: a couple months after I got sent to juvie Drake died suddenly in a training accident," said Andrew. "He mysteriously drowned. Now correct me if I'm wrong but you promised me that you wouldn't go near him."

"I didn't kill him," said Neil instantly. Andrew gave him a flat look. "I didn't," he insisted.

"Somehow I don't believe you."

Neil took a deep breath, forcibly calming himself. "When you disappeared without warning, I went looking for you," he said. Andrew's hands tightened on the steering wheel. "I severely underestimated how hard it would be to find the Spears' house and I mostly just ended up wandering aimlessly for a couple hours. But I took long enough that my mother came to find me. She wouldn't believe that I was in my human form for no reason, so I told her that Drake knew what I was and that he'd called me and threatened to steal my skin. She had contacts on land and used them to find out who and where he was." He was quiet for a few beats. "I told you what would happen if she found out."

"You also said she'd beat you."

Neil shrugged. "She wasn't best pleased. We went to live in the North Sea for a couple years."

Andrew jerked the car to a stop in Wymack's parking lot. "And now you're here, just in time for a reunion with old friends. Convenient, that."

Neil's face clouded with hurt. "You keep insinuating that I'm untrustworthy but it wasn't _me_ that left without even saying goodbye." He got out of the car and slammed the door with such force that it rocked.

* * *

Andrew decided to accept Neil's fairly blatant declaration of, "Fuck off and leave me alone," until the upperclassmen returned and Wymack and Abby stopped watching them all so closely. In the meantime Neil practiced exy, seeming to switch between trying to please Kevin and very clearly wanting to murder him. Kevin was even more high strung than usual; Andrew assumed it was because his new recruit - who must have incredible potential, given how hard Kevin had lobbied for recruiting him - wasn't getting better instantly.

Andrew found himself more distracted by Neil than he would have wished. Neil had always been a distraction for him, firstly as a novelty and a magical being, but now there was an added edge to it because _fuck_ had Neil grown up to be attractive. He resolutely ignored the fact that Neil was exactly his type.

"Hey, stranger," said Nicky from the door of their room on move-in day. "What'd you think of Matt?"

"He seems fine," replied Neil tersely, drawing Andrew's attention.

"He is fine," Nicky laughed. "As are you," he added wistfully as he turned back to the room. "What did you even say to him in the car that makes him clearly hate us?" he asked Andrew. It wasn't the first time he'd asked over the past month and Andrew paid as little attention as he normally did.

"Did he have his bag with him?" he said instead.

Nicky squinted in thought. "I don't think so, no."

"Was he wearing a fur coat?"

"Wha- Andrew, it's ninety-five degrees, _no_ he wasn't wearing fur."

Andrew hopped off the table he'd propped by the window. "Keep an eye out, I'll be back soon."

It was easy work to get past the flimsy door lock. He found Neil's duffel and unpacked it, taking note of everything's placement. There was a binder with cutouts of Kevin and Riko covering up absurd amounts of cash and coded instructions on how to get more. At the bottom of the bag, wrapped up in a plastic bag, was a sealskin. So Neil hadn't been lying when he said that he still had it. Andrew reached out to touch it, before he snapped his hand back. It was basically Neil's soul and would allow Andrew to have complete control over him. He would never be like _them_ ; he would never touch it.

He carefully repacked the duffel and returned to his room for a smoke, wondering if Neil would notice the intrusion. Since Neil was operating under his own free will then Andrew had to find out what the hell he was doing here. Taking him to Eden's this weekend seemed like the best way to figure that out.

It wasn't long afterwards that the lock to their room clicked open and one furious selkie stood in the doorway, visibly fuming. Nicky said something, which Andrew ignored.

"Don't touch my stuff!" Neil yelled, clearly directing his words at Andrew. "You have no right!"

"I didn't," said Andrew, knowing that Neil was most worried about his skin. "I wouldn't."

Neil relaxed slightly and nodded. "See that you don't."

Kevin took the opportunity to insert a pompous comment into the ensuing silence, which re-ignited Neil's temper.

In the ensuing fight Andrew let Matt get in one good punch on Kevin before stepping in. Kevin needed a good punch every now and then.

* * *

Andrew gave a subtle shake of his head when Roland looked over to see if he should drug Neil's drink. Roland raised his eyebrows in surprise but handed over an unopened can of cola. It just seemed… wrong, somehow, to drug Neil. They'd been friends in the past and as far as he knew Neil had never lied to him. There was no need to make an enemy of him until he proved either uncooperative or a threat. Besides, if he didn't answer Andrew's questions to his satisfaction then he could drug his next drink.

Once they got to the table they quickly demolished the tray of drinks and split up the crackers, much to Neil's obvious disapproval.

"Everyone get lost," Andrew said. "Neil and I need to have a chat."

Kevin huffed. "Where do you want me to go?"

"I don't care," replied Andrew, flicking his fingers dismissively. "Go dance."

"I thought you were his bodyguard," said Neil as Kevin stalked away, his face thunderous.

"No Ravens here to protect him from. Except maybe you, so start talking."

"Are you delusional?"

"If you don't tell me what I want to know I am going to make you."

Neil's eyes flashed dangerously.

"Edgar Allen is in our district and you are on my team," said Andrew harshly. "You, a known Moriyama affiliate."

"A known _what_?" repeated Neil completely perplexed. "Seriously, did those drugs of yours completely rewrite your brain?"

"So you deny it? You deny that your father is a redcap and a Moriyama lackey who once tried to sell you to Tetsuji?"

"How do you know that?" asked Neil in a low voice.

"How do you think? Kevin was all weepy that you'd run away." Neil sent a panicked glance in the direction that Kevin had gone. "Don't worry, he hasn't recognized you yet."

"My father doesn't work for the Moriyamas."

"How sure are you about that? Because Kevin was quite certain that he does."

Neil opened his mouth to argue and then closed it again. "I never heard the name Moriyama until we went to Evermore, but I have always wondered why I was there."

"And why are you here?"

"Coach and Kevin recruited me."

"Stop being purposefully dense. Why were you in Arizona to be recruited to begin with?"

Neil was quiet for a couple beats, running his finger along the edge of his cola can. "My father tracked us down in Seattle. We got away but my mother was injured, fatally. She died in California and then I hitchhiked east until I found a small town to lay low in."

"Why as a human? Aren't you more vulnerable like this?"

"He has some kind of magic that can track me, but only when I'm in my seal form."

"You expect me to believe that Kevin finding you in Arizona was a coincidence?" asked Andrew scornfully.

"Not likely."

"Then how would you explain it?"

"Fate," replied Neil.

Andrew scoffed.

"Not like fate or destiny that mundane humans talk about," said Neil. "But magic has its own rules and it calls to itself."

Andrew swirled his drink and thought about what Neil had said. "Assuming I believe you, why did you decide to come here? You have to know that being around Kevin isn't a good idea if you're planning on keeping your identity a secret."

"I'm tired, Andrew," replied Neil, looking it. "It is exhausting to be on the run and worse when you're alone. I was given a chance to pretend that I had a future for awhile and to play exy while I was doing it." He took a drink of soda. "And I wanted to see my friends again," he said in a smaller voice.

"So your plan is to hang around for a bit and then disappear?"

"I don't really have any other choice. If I stay too long the odds of my father finding me rise."

"Kevin said that he's in prison."

"For now."

"I could protect you."

"In exchange for what?"

"I will think of something."

"A drugged up changeling against a murderous redcap, not to mention all the mythfolk that work for him? There's nothing you can do."

"And you'll last so much longer by yourself on the run?"

Neil flinched.

"You wanted to play exy so badly that you came here and gave your game to Kevin. Give your back to me."

"Why do you want me to stay?"

Andrew wasn't entirely sure why, just that it was important that he did. "You keep Kevin occupied." Neil looked disbelieving. "You're forgetting that how every moment he spends obsessing over your game he's not bothering me about mine."

"I'll think about it," Neil said finally. "I don't want you to get between me and my father, but I'll consider your offer. I promise I won't run before October."

"When we face the Ravens."

Neil gave a sarcastic smile. "I didn't think you knew our schedule."

* * *

Neil's presence certainly did add a certain _je ne sais quoi_ to everyday life, what with insulting Riko on live television prompting Seth's death, revealing his multilingualism in the most dramatic ways possible, pretending that he didn't understand how phones worked, and fighting with Riko at the fall banquet. The first, at least, had made Neil give in and accept Andrew's offer of protection, and the last had finally clued Kevin in to who Neil was.

In mid-November Andrew was called into a meeting with Wymack, Bee, and, for some reason, his lawyer, Waterhouse.

"Exciting news," said Waterhouse, when they'd all gathered in Wymack's office. "Due to your compliance and lack of further incidents, the State has decided that your mood-altering drugs are no longer necessary. You'll have to go to rehab as agreed upon and then you'll be placed on probation."

Andrew looked to Wymack. He didn't care about exy but he had agreed to play for Wymack. "I care more about your health than I do about the season," Wymack said. When Andrew kept watching him, he sighed. "We only have one game left in the season and it's against a weak opponent. I'd rather you be sober for the playoffs but it's up to you when to go to rehab."

"The State has cancelled your prescription, so you'll have to go soon," said Waterhouse.

"I could write you a new prescription, despite my misgivings about these particular drugs," said Bee, "but I believe it will be better for your health, both mental and physical, if you get sober as soon as possible. Also, your drug plan will probably not cover the cost of this medication if it's no longer court-mandated."

"Bee, you know I have promises to keep," said Andrew, "promises that I'll be useless in fulfilling inside an institution." He left his chair and went into the lounge where Neil and Kevin were waiting for him. Bee, Wymack, and Waterhouse followed him.

"Andrew? What's going on?" asked Kevin.

"They're trying to send me away," said Andrew with a laugh. Wiping his thumb across his smile, he continued, "It's time to get rid of this."

"Good," said Neil decisively.

"Get rid of…" Kevin trailed off. "It's too early. The season's still on."

"Andrew's health is more important than the exy season," Wymack told him.

Andrew couldn't stop his ear-splitting grin as he turned towards Bee. "I told you, didn't I? Who will take care of Kevin if I'm gone? I can't trust him wandering around on his own."

"I'll watch him," cut in Neil.

Andrew swiveled his head to look at him. He took two strides across the room and pressed his hand to Neil's chest, directly above where he knew there was the burned imprint of a hot iron. "Only to cut and run when danger comes?" he asked in German.

"No," said Neil. "Trust me."

Andrew considered. Despite that fact that Neil spouted lies easier than breathing to most of the team, Andrew had never caught him lying to him. "Give me your true name and I'll trust you with Kevin."

Neil opened his mouth a couple times to speak before sound came out. "Abram is what my mother called me."

"Fine," said Andrew, stepping back and switching back to English. "Kevin, stay with Neil. Bee… I guess we're doing this your way."

* * *

When Neil joined him on the rooftop he had his sealskin wrapped around him possessively. Andrew surveyed him: his hair was back to the same reddish-brown as his coat but he still wore his brown contacts to cover up his inhuman eyes. He was covered in cuts and bruises and bandages.

"I will take an explanation now," said Andrew. "Did I break my promise or were you keeping yours?"

"Neither," said Neil. "I spent Christmas at Evermore."

Andrew marvelled at Neil's stupidity as he peeled the bandage off his face to see where Riko had marked him. None-too-gently slapping it back on his face he said, "You were supposed to stay with Kevin, or did you forget?"

"I was supposed to protect him from Riko; you didn't specify how."

"So you _were_ keeping your promise."

"No," said Neil, swallowing heavily and avoiding eye contact. "Riko said that he paid off someone in the DA's office to have your prescription terminated so you'd be sent to rehab. He said that if I didn't go with him then Dr. Proust would-"

Andrew covered Neil's mouth to prevent the ugly words from spilling out. He knew exactly what Dr. Proust would do, after all. Neil looked devastated.

"I have never needed your protection," said Andrew.

"You're busy watching all our backs; who's watching yours?"

"I watch my own back."

"Poorly," Neil retorted. "Do you even care what happens to you?"

"I care about nothing," said Andrew, the words sour once again. "Next time someone comes for you, stand down and let me deal with it."

"If it means losing you, then no," said Neil, simply.

"I hate you." Andrew lit a cigarette and contemplated quietly. "What did you do with this, anyway?" he asked, reaching out to flick at Neil's skin but stopping short of touching it. "I assume you're not stupid enough to actually bring it anywhere near Riko, despite the martyr act."

Neil had flinched when Andrew reached out but caught himself quickly. "I left it in a safety deposit box at a bank and gave the key to Kevin."

"It would be safer if you just left it there for good."

Neil shuddered. "It's unpleasant when I can't touch it every day." He gazed at Andrew for a couple beats, before reaching out his fur-wrapped arm. "You can touch it, if you want," he offered. "I know you're not going to use it to hurt me."

Andrew wasn't sure exactly when or how he'd earned Neil's loyalty, but this was dangerous. "I spent most of my teenage years thinking I'd made you up."

"Well, I'm real."

"You're a pipe dream," corrected Andrew. "Go inside and leave me alone."

* * *

It wasn't until Andrew got Kevin onto the bus and made sure that Aaron and Nicky had followed that he realized that Neil was missing. He'd been farther away from him than usual, near the security provided by Binghamton. How could the rent-a-cop be so useless that he couldn't even get one person to the giant, orange bus? He turned to head back into the fray to search for Neil, but was blocked by Wymack, Renee, and the rest of the upperclassmen clattering onto the bus. All but Wymack and Dan looked injured; Abby opened her first aid kit and got to work.

Andrew tried to push past them. Abby looked up at him. "Your eye!" she said, focussed on the side of his face where he'd taken a stray elbow earlier.

Andrew shrugged her off. "Neil's not here," he told Wymack. Dan and Matt gasped in shock.

Wymack swore profusely and glanced out at the frothing mob. "There's nothing you can do right now," he said.

"I can find him."

"You're more likely to get yourself hurt or lost. Sit your ass down and wait for this to clear up; we'll find him."

"He's probably holed up somewhere safe," added Renee.

Andrew sat, vibrating with tension. He'd known that in kissing Neil he was letting him get too far under his skin and this feeling of absolute helplessness confirmed it. He wanted nothing more right now than to get his hands on Neil and ensure his safety.

The riot didn't last much longer; Andrew was up out of his seat and off the bus as soon as it started breaking up. He could hear his teammates follow him, shouting Neil's name. He circled the opposite way from them, hoping to cover more ground.

A flash of orange caught his eye and his brain stuttered as he recognized Neil's bag. He stumbled his way over to it and dug through its contents, his heart in his throat. This was why he should never have started anything physical with Neil; their time together had felt like standing on the edge of the roof, his stomach in free fall. He knew that there would be an inevitable crash.

Finding the keys and phone made him want to vomit, but the true death knell was the sealskin at the bottom of the bag. Andrew touched it reverently. Neil would _never_ have left this by choice except if he'd been taken by someone who would steal it.

He wrapped the fur around his shoulders. "I have your skin, you have to obey," he said. "Don't die. Come back."

He made his way back to the bus, the last one to return. Kevin was holding Neil's racquet and looking shellshocked.

"He's gone," Andrew announced, tossing the orange duffel into the centre of the group.

"What do you mean _gone_?" demanded Matt.

"Gone _where_?" added Allison.

Wymack eyed Andrew's new accessory. "Voluntarily?" he asked, not sounding hopeful.

Andrew shook his head and offered up Neil's phone and keys. Dan took the phone from his unresisting grip, but he held onto the keys tightly. Neil would want them back when he returned.

"He has a text message from an unknown number that just says 0," said Dan, her voice shaky. "And a bunch of deleted texts with numbers… it looks like a countdown."

Neil had known that this was coming, he had _known_ and he hadn't said anything. Andrew's hands tightened into fists. _Thank you_ , the words echoed through his head. _You were amazing_. He should have suspected that something was wrong.

"He took a call after the game from a 443 area code," continued Dan. "What's 443?"

"Baltimore?" said Allison after checking her phone.

Kevin drew in a startled gasp.

"What's in Baltimore, Kevin?" said Andrew with a dangerous edge to his voice.

"His father," Kevin said, barely above a whisper.

Andrew closed his eyes. That's why Neil hadn't said anything; he'd always been adamant that Andrew could protect him from Riko but he wasn't to get between him and his father.

"Why's that a bad thing?" asked Matt, looking between Kevin and Andrew.

"Because his father only wants to either kill or enslave him," said Kevin, his voice dead. He flicked his eyes to Neil's sealskin around Andrew's shoulders, "and since he won't be able to enslave him, he's probably already dead."

The words ignited the simmering anger within Andrew. He leapt forward to stop Kevin from spouting any more dire predictions. He wrapped his hands around Kevin's neck, growling, "He's _not dead_."

Kevin struggled and tried to get away but Andrew wouldn't let him, his hands tightening as he was overcome with rage. Renee jabbed the nerves in his shoulders to make him loosen his grip and he was dragged bodily away by Matt and Wymack. Kevin collapsed, taking heaving gasps of air and coughing.

"Don't touch it," he snarled at them, making sure that Neil's sealskin was safe.

"Alright, everybody calm down," said Wymack with authority. "I'm going to call the police, report that Neil's been abducted."

Kevin stopped his coughing to speak, his voice gravelly, "They won't be able to do anything; his father's most likely paid them off."

"Who is this guy anyway? How do you know him?" demanded Allison.

As Kevin rasped his way through an abridged version of his and Neil's history (leaving out most of the supernatural elements), Andrew stroked the fur, trying to calm himself. He felt as if his brain was boiling.

The Foxes reacted with shock and horror at Kevin's story, only Renee remaining impassive.

"Right," said Allison faintly when he'd finished speaking. "And why is Andrew suddenly very territorial over a fur coat?"

There was a very awkward pause, which Abby broke in her usual no-nonsense tone. "We should get the three of you to the hospital to get checked out," she told Matt, Renee, and Allison. "David, you'll have to call the authorities and find us somewhere to sleep tonight."

After finding a motel and getting them rooms for the night, Wymack left them to sleep. He woke them all up around dawn (not that Andrew was sleeping) to usher everyone onto the bus. He waited until Abby started driving to give them the news.

"I got a call from the FBI," he said. "Neil's injured but he's going to be okay."

Andrew managed to not visibly react despite his control being in tatters from the events of the last eight hours. Wymack kept speaking but Andrew tuned him out, instead thinking about how he needed to get his hands on Neil to convince himself that Neil was alive, that he was alright.

And then he was going to strangle the goddamn martyr for never having mentioned the countdown.

* * *

Once they got back to Palmetto Neil told the Foxes everything (including the whole I-can-turn-into-a-seal thing). Everyone took the news about actual magic fairly calmly; Andrew assumed that part of their sanguine attitudes had to do with being relieved about Neil's continued survival.

"We need to get you to the ocean," said Kevin once Neil's story was finished. "Don't selkies have accelerated healing in their seal form?"

"We do but the next new moon isn't for two weeks," said Neil. "I'd be stuck in seal form until then and I'd miss the next game."

"You'll miss the next game anyway with your hands in that shape," said Abby sharply.

"You'd also miss a week of classes which will probably get you on an academic suspension from exy," said Dan apologetically.

"As would Andrew since I highly doubt that he'll just leave Neil chilling alone in the ocean," added Nicky.

"I'll take care of it," said Wymack. "Go spend a week in the ocean and then come back here."

"Uh, how?" asked Neil. "My seal form isn't going to fit in the Maserati."

"You can ride in the flatbed of my truck," said Matt enthusiastically. "Like a dog!"

Neil looked distinctly unimpressed.

"That's settled then," said Allison, tapping on her phone. "I'll call my travel agent, get us a house with private beach access."

The next afternoon they made the five hour trip to the Atlantic ocean. When they got there Neil fidgeted his way through a little speech about how he had to be naked to transform and that he hadn't done it in awhile and that his injuries would make it harder to do; the upshot of all of the word vomit was that he wanted to be left alone for at least half an hour before they joined him on the shore.

The rest of them took the time to claim rooms and get settled and make drinks before tripping down to the beach. They could see Neil long before they got there: an enormous fur sausage floating idly.

"I think I expected him to be smaller?" Matt faltered.

Privately, Andrew agreed. The last time he'd seen Neil in his seal form he'd been about the size of a large dog, but he'd only been eleven. Now he was as long as Kevin was tall, and at least twice around. He was easily 250 pounds of fur-covered muscle and blubber.

"There's no way that's possible," said Aaron angrily. "The law of conservation of mass says that that sea cow _can't_ be Neil."

"He's still adorable," said Allison, but she made the mistake of saying it within range of Neil's hearing and got splashed.

Andrew waded out to get a closer look at Neil's injuries. He'd left his armbands in his room and changed into a long-sleeved shirt and swim trunks. The water was unpleasantly frigid. Neil's flippers showed the burns and cuts he'd sustained on his arms and his cheek had a shiny burned patch without hair, but all his wounds appeared significantly better healed than they had just this morning.

"Alright," he said quietly, scritching Neil at the base of the skull, "go swim."

Neil barked once and dove under the water. Andrew made a trip back to the house to change into warm, dry clothes before joining the others. He was pleased to find that they'd built a bonfire to sit around in his absence.

"How's our little buddy?" asked Matt. "His wounds all _seal_ ed?"

"He's going to flipper you off if you keep making puns," said Allison.

"What's the difference between a seal and a sea lion?" asked Aaron.

The upperclassman stared in shock that Aaron was contributing to the conversation, but Kevin answered confidently, "Ears. True seals don't have ears."

Aaron rolled his eyes. "No," he said. "The difference is one electron."

The was silence as everyone figured out the joke, followed by sounds of realization and chuckles.

"Neeeerd," Nicky teased.

"Do you think he's called Neil because it rhymes with seal?" Dan wondered.

"Yes," said Andrew. It was his turn to stared at, so he raised a shoulder in a half-shrug. "I was twelve. I thought it was funny."

"Wait, you knew Neil when you were twelve?" asked Nicky. "That sounds like an interesting story." Andrew ignored him. "...or not," he muttered.

The conversation moved on, with Allison demanding that Kevin explain more about mythfolk and magic.

Dinner was hot dogs cooked on sticks in the fire with s'mores for dessert. They'd bought a couple fresh fish that Andrew took down to the shoreline to throw to Neil.

As it grew later the Foxes disappeared one by one back into the house until only Andrew and Renee were still by the fire. Renee had been quiet all evening, rarely joining in the conversation and staring out at the ocean with something like hunger.

"I've never been in the ocean," she said. "There's so much power; I can feel it."

"Planning on going for a swim?"

She recoiled. "I don't trust myself; it's my nature to kill."

"That may be your nature but you control your own actions," retorted Andrew. "You keep your knives hidden like a shameful secret and pretend they're there to help you remember; you avoid your rightful place and say it's because you don't trust yourself. Ignoring your darkness won't make you a better person. You have to face it and harness it."

She pressed her lips together and gazed out thoughtfully at the dark water. She finally stood and strode with purpose towards where the water lapped at the sand. The moon, just past full, illuminated the night. Andrew could just see where Neil was dozing not far off shore, his nose the only part of him showing above the still water.

"Hopefully this goes differently than the opening scene from Jaws," drawled Andrew, following her.

Renee gave him a sharp smile as her feet touched the water. Her appearance had changed, the glamour she usually wore fading. Her skin was grey, her teeth sharp. "I have nothing to fear from a shark," she said.

She went farther out into the water. Neil kept his distance - he had once confessed to Andrew that all his instincts marked Renee as a dangerous predator. She didn't spend long in the water but her eyes had a new light in them when she came back to shore.

"Thank you," she said quietly as she passed Andrew on her way back to the house.

* * *

The rest of the week passed quickly. Before they knew it they were faced with a giant seal, a tarp, and the flatbed of Matt's truck. It took all eight of them working together to get an angrily honking Neil onto the truck. Andrew carefully wrapped him loosely in the tarp to protect him from the wind and from onlookers.

Wymack had texted them all an address a little outside of town and instructed them to meet him there. When they got there they found a community pool with a sign that read 'Closed for repairs'. Wymack met them around back.

"Christ, is that Neil?" he asked when he saw Neil's giant form.

"No, we brought back a _different_ seal that we happened upon at the beach," said Allison dryly.

"Can he walk? I've got the pool full of salt water."

"Inefficiently," said Nicky. "He looks like he's doing the worm, but at least his flippers are mostly healed."

"How'd you arrange this, anyway?" asked Dan.

"Called in a couple favours," said Wymack. "Let's get him down."

Once he was out of the truck Neil painstakingly used his flippers to drag himself into the building before basically rolling into the pool with a huge splash.

Wymack's lips twitched. "Fastest striker in the league, everybody."

* * *

In May, Aaron left town to spend time with Katelyn, Nicky flew to Germany, and Kevin decided to stay at Wymack's and attempt some familial bonding, so Andrew and Neil had a month to themselves. They went on a short road trip and then spent two weeks at the house in Columbia. Andrew had expected that Neil would want to go to the ocean, but he said he didn't want to spend their time together as a seal.

Andrew was surprised at how much he liked the quiet domesticity that he and Neil had fallen into.

"Do you have any clean socks?" Andrew called from his bedroom. He'd been putting off doing laundry.

"I should have some in the bottom drawer," Neil called back from the washroom.

Andrew opened the drawer, which was also apparently where Neil was keeping his sealskin. He gently moved it aside and dug around until he found a pair of socks.

Neil wandered in when Andrew was putting the skin back in its place. "Huh," he said, his gaze on Andrew's hands. "Have you ever heard about the tale of the selkie bride?"

"You said it wasn't true," said Andrew.

"Selkies aren't automatically married when someone steals their skin, no," said Neil, a funny look on his face. " _Buuuut_ , if they willingly give someone their skin and that person returns it to them they _are_ considered married according to magical law."

Andrew turned to give Neil a sharp look, remembering picking up Neil's skin in Binghamton and then draping it around his shoulders in a motel room in Baltimore.

"Yeah," continued Neil with a wide-eyed innocence that gave away the fact that he was lying, "and selkies can totally grant wishes." He lasted about twenty seconds before he started chuckling.

"You're less funny than you think you are," said Andrew, but he wasn't going to complain too much about something that made Neil laugh like that, happy and free.

As Neil left the room, still smiling to himself, Andrew thought about the seven wishes he had made on the day he'd first met Neil. After all this time all of them had come true.

He had Aaron and Nicky, a family that loved him in their own ways.

Drake was dead and he could go to bed without fear.

He was strong and Renee had taught him to defend himself.

Kevin spoke about his future with unwavering belief in his abilities.

Wymack supported him no matter what he chose to do.

Bee listened to him and understood him and helped him to better understand himself.

And he had Neil, his first friend who had become so much more.

He ran his hand across Neil's sealskin. He knew that his wishes hadn't done anything, that there wasn't some higher power in the universe listening to him. Still, wishing probably didn't hurt.

_I wish that I can keep this_ , he thought as he closed the drawer and followed Neil down the stairs.

**Author's Note:**

> I can be found on tumblr [@gluupor](http://gluupor.tumblr.com).


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